Road of future paved with solar panels

Solar panels being installed on an expressway in Jinan, Shandong province, in December. The panels will generate clean electricity for the grid.Credit:
ZHOU QINGXIAN / FOR CHINA DAILY

26 January 2018 • 9:15am

Xing Yi

China’s first expressway section paved with solar panels opened to traffic on Dec 28 in Jinan, Shandong province, according to the project’s chief engineer

Covering 63,180 sq ft, the 3,670-ft-long photovoltaic stretch lies in the southern part of the city’s belt expressway.

Once completed, the road will be able to use the sun to generate electricity, which will be transmitted into the grid. Its peak power generating capacity is 817.2 kilowatts, over a designed service life of 20 years, said Zhang Hongchao, a professor at Tongji University’s College of Transportation Engineering.

The project is being funded by Qilu Transportation Development Group and built by Pavenergy, where Prof Zhang serves as chief engineer.

In September the company unveiled a 7,100-sq-ft pilot photovoltaic zone in downtown Jinan, which powers several chargers for electric cars.

“In addition to generating solar power, the new expressway will open doors to third-party services such as wireless charging for electric cars and autonomous car guidance,” he said.

Prof Zhang said space for the installation of wireless charging devices has been reserved on the roadway, and joint work with the US company Qualcomm aims to bring in a section for wireless charging of moving vehicles in two to three years.

Prof Zhang has led a team developing cost-effective materials and structures for the photovoltaic pavement for eight years.

The current material meets national standards and can withstand all kinds of vehicles. The pavement is just as economical as asphalt and cement, Prof Zhang said.

“One square meter [10 sq ft] of photovoltaic pavement can earn at least 100 yuan (£11) a year through generating electricity. More profit potential lies in its affiliated third-party services. Moreover, instead of building solar farms, building solar roads will also save land acquisition costs.”

The idea of building solar roads was first brought up by the US scientists Scott Brusaw and Julie Brusaw in 2006.

The first solar road for pedestrians and bicycles was completed in the Netherlands in 2014, and the first 1-kilometre (0.6 mile) solar road for cars was built in Tourouvre-au-Perche, Normandy, in 2016.

This article was originally produced and published by China Daily. View the original article at: chinadaily.com.cn